Where to Install: Tire Veneer tiles or rolls may be installed as flooring on any clean, dry hard interior or exterior surface.

Installation Costs: Tire Veneer tile or roll installation time and skill required is comparable to that of vinyl sheet flooring. Installation time will be approximately 0.016 man-hours per square foot on a typical roll installation. Installation times probably will increase if more than one color is used and/or if the walls of the space are not straight and square. Tire Veneer tile installations are similar to carpet tile installations, the main factor being whether the tiles are installed bonded or unbonded.

Comparisons: Tire Veneer tile or roll flooring differ from typical vinyl flooring in that the material is not as flexible and cannot be heat formed to corners as in typical vinyl flooring.

Acclimation: The material must be at room temperature before installation. A full pallet of rolled material, depending upon the outside temperature can take as long as 5 to 7 days to acclimate if left on the pallet. If possible, the tiles or rolls should be positioned near where they will be installed to allow for faster acclimation; rolls should be unrolled.

Handling: Rolls or palletized material are heavy and will require mechanical assistance to move.

Alignment: Tire Veneer tiles or rolls can be installed with either side up. Due to a roll’s weight the inner surface of the roll is normally placed up and in unbonded installations, double-faced carpet tape is used to keep the ends from curling up.

Cutting Rubber: Tire Veneer may be cut and installed similar to carpet. Cutting perimeter details and around permanent fixtures can be achieved using a utility knife or similar razor-blade type tool. Tire Veneer may be drilled, punched, laser cut, water-jet cut and rough-cut with hand or power saws. Tire Veneer may also be die cut to specific shapes.

Edging: Tire Veneer tiles are die-cut ready to install. Rolls come pre-edged, however it is always advisable to check the edges before installing. The material requires considerable cutting pressure and cuts best one sheet at a time using a metal straight edge.

Expansion Joints: When applying bonded Tire Veneer tiles or rolls over concrete expansion/control joints, it is advisable to make a knife cut directly over the expansion joint so that when movement does occur in the concrete subsurface, it will not affect the adhesive bond or cause the material to buckle.

Rubber Odor: All products made with SBR rubber, including automobile tires, have a distinct rubber odor. This odor eventually off-gasses leaving no detectable odor. Under ideal conditions, the Tire Veneer, upon arrival to the job site, should be unpacked immediately and the tiles or rolls laid out near where they are to be installed. This will allow them to off-gas or “breath”. The more time available for this the better. Recognizing that ideal conditions rarely exist, after installation, increasing the room temperature as high as possible overnight will accelerate the off-gassing process.

Bonded and Unbonded Installations: Subsurface preparation for Tire Veneer sheet or tiles should be clean, smooth and free of debris that would telegraph through the material and appear as bumps. Subsurface preparation for use with adhesives requires stripping of wax or other old surface treatments. Uneven joints, cracks and holes in the subsurface should be repaired using a high quality underlayment leveling compound.

Recommended Adhesive: Based upon numerous tests and field reports, Yemm & Hart recommends for Tire Veneer, Chemrex CX-941 trowel grade adhesive for the most successful installation. A bond test is always recommended before the installation process begins. This adhesive is available from Yemm & Hart.

Additional Adhesive Options: Experience has shown that a high quality contact adhesive such as 3M Scotch Grip 1357 Neutral High Performance Contact Adhesive provides the excellent results for installing Tire Veneer to any substrate including radius or curved surfaces. For temporary adhesion solutions double stick carpet tape is  readily available.

Finishing: Yemm & Hart recommends Enseel floor care products manufactured by National Chemical Laboratories, 800-NAT-CHEM, http://www.nclonline.com.